Low Rhine levels limit flow of gasoil; keep freight rates high

In this podcast, Richard Turner and Brian Murphy, editors for Platts european oil team, discuss the impact of low Rhine water levels on the gasoil barge market in Northwest Europe; the inability to barges to load to anywhere near their dead-weight capacity; and how the Rhine barge freight rates between Rotterdam and Karlsruhe have hit a 2009 high.

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This is the latest in a series of weekly podcasts aimed at highlighting significant news stories from around the energy world. Check back every week for the latest update.

We welcome any feedback or suggestions for topics. Contact us at webeditor@platts.com.

Created: October 9, 2009

Recent developments in the global tanker market

William Bathurst, managing editor for Platts Marine Alert, discusses recent developments in the tanker market; assessing the reasons behind high tanker costs and low freight rates; and provides an outlook for the depressed freight market.

Created: August 7, 2009

Created: August 7, 2009

November Nigerian crude oil exports set to exceed 2 million b/d

In this podcast, Platts' crude oil editor Daniel Colover and European oil editor Walid Kurdi, discuss developments in Nigeria following the recent weapons amnesty in the region, where improved stability in the market has resulted in increased crude oil production levels; and how the region expects to export in excess of 2 million b/d of crude in November.

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This is the latest in a series of weekly podcasts aimed at highlighting significant news stories from around the energy world. Check back every week for the latest update.

We welcome any feedback or suggestions for topics. Contact us at webeditor@platts.com.

Created: October 15, 2009

Crude run up lifts Europe's middle distillates to fresh year-high

In this podcast, managing editor for Platts' European oil products Joel Hanley and middle distillates editor Brian Murphy, discuss how fresh gains on ICE crude contracts have again taken all European middle distillate assessments to year-to-date highs, as a plunging US dollar has seen Brent crude and gasoil contracts gain fresh momentum in their recent run up.

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This is the latest in a series of weekly podcasts aimed at highlighting significant news stories from around the energy world. Check back every week for the latest update.

We welcome any feedback or suggestions for topics. Contact us at webeditor@platts.com.

Created: October 22, 2009

OPEC unlikely to increase production until floating storage barrels discharged

In this podcast, William Bathurst, Managing Editor for Platts Marine Alert, discusses the current state of the tanker market, focusing on the key issues amongst delegates that emerged at the recent Platts Tanker Economics conference held in Athens; examining the distortion of the supply/demand balance that has resulted in record low earnings; and how OPEC is unlikely to increase production until floating storage barrels have been discharged.

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This is the latest in a series of weekly podcasts aimed at highlighting significant news stories from around the energy world. Check back every week for the latest update.

We welcome any feedback or suggestions for topics. Contact us at webeditor@platts.com.

Created: October 30, 2009

Peak oil debate rages on

In this podcast, Richard Swann, Managing Editor for Platts' EMEA oil team, discusses in-depth the controversy surrounding the UK's Guardian newspaper, which cited an unnamed "senior" International Energy Agency (IEA) official as saying the agency was underplaying the chances of an imminent peak in world oil production, contradicting the findings of the IEA's annual World Energy Outlook.

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This is the latest in a series of weekly podcasts aimed at highlighting significant news stories from around the energy world. Check back every week for the latest update.

We welcome any feedback or suggestions for topics. Contact us at webeditor@platts.com.

Created: November 12, 2009

NWE refiners' room for crude run cuts compromised by weak margins

In this podcast, Tim Worledge and Elzbieta Rabelska, editors for Platts European Marketscan, discuss why, amidst rising crude oil and products prices, national media outlets are starting to highlight the armada of vessels currently engaged in floating storage, particularly in the North Sea. Despite the increases, the picture for Europe's refiners still remains unclear as poor demand continues to mark the staple middle distillate market. With gasoline demand also falling short of previous years', the sheer quantity of product currently held in tank and at sea is not equating to cheaper oil prices.

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This is the latest in a series of weekly podcasts aimed at highlighting significant news stories from around the energy world. Check back every week for the latest update.

We welcome any feedback or suggestions for topics. Contact us at webeditor@platts.com.

Created: November 19, 2009

Effects of ongoing military activity on Nigerian crude oil production

Joel Hanley, managing editor for Platts' international crude oil team and crude oil reporter, Daniel Colover, discuss the ongoing effects of Nigeria's main militant group, MEND, on crude oil production in the Niger Delta; focus on specific crude oil grades affected by military activity; and examine how other oil producing countries in the region have benefited from Nigeria's instability.

Created:June 17, 2009

Mediterranean LSFO strong on increased utility demand

Platts EMEA fuel oil reporters Maria Gradobitova and Benno Spencer discuss the recent strength of low sulfur fuel oil in the Mediterranean and Northwest European markets; focusing on the current slight surge that Mediterranean utility demand has witnessed and the strengthening of high sulfur fuel oil in ARA.

Created: August 20, 2009

IEA raises world oil demand estimates for 2009, 2010

Richard Swann, managing editor for Platts' European oil, and Margaret McQuaile, senior correspondent, discuss the impact on OPEC of the latest analysis of the world oil market fundamentals, including the International Energy Agency's latest monthly oil market report, in light of the upcoming OPEC meeting in Vienna on September 9, 2009.

Created: August 14, 2009